Smart cards, which are thin cards with electrical contact pads on one face, are used by inserting them into a cavity of a smart card connector that has contacts that engage the contact pads. The connector is typically mounted on a circuit board, which connects the contacts to read/write circuitry. There is a demand for smart card connectors that occupy a minimum of space on the circuit board, but that effectively perform the functions of enabling easy card insertion and removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,995 describes a smart connector with an insulative contact holder and a sheet metal cover, which form a card-receiving cavity between them. That patent shows a short helically wound wire spring lying in the front portion of the card-receiving cavity, the spring having a spring leg lying in the path of a card front edge. That connector includes a card retainer tab projecting from a side of the connector rear end. When the tab is depressed, the spring leg pushes the card front edge rearward far enough so a person can grasp the car and pull it the rest of the way out. One problem is that a thin wire is used to hold the helical wound part, and there is a possibility that the card will slide over or under the wire. The thin wire may not provide sufficient force. The spring takes up additional space at the front of the card, which adds to the “footprint” occupied by the connector. A connector that provided a sufficient ejection force using a wound spring, but that did not increase the footprint on the circuit board, and without a considerable danger that a card would slip over or under the spring, would be of value.